The Other Side of Potions Class
by Moira-girl
Summary: Snape's ghost gives Harry some advice for his first class.  Just some fluffy prequel stuff for Fighting Back.


_Author's Note: I found this on my hard drive and thought I'd upload it. Hope you enjoy. I know many people take issue to Snape as a ghost…I do have legitimate reasons for having him come back…maybe I'll make a one shot about that too._

**The Other Side of the Classroom **

"No! That'd be mean!" cried Harry indignantly.

"That's the point," explained the ghost flat faced.

"If I'm mean, no one will pay any attention," answered Harry stubbornly.

"If you're nice, your classroom will be blown up," answered Snape.

"No it won't, you'd have to add hash wood instead of hash root and stir too fast for anything to react that strongly," muttered Harry as he looked over his lesson plan for the first year class about to enter his room, his first class as a teacher at Hogwarts.

"Exactly, this is an evaluation of knowledge; you are not going to be able to warn them," explained Snape.

"They won't make _that_ stupid a mistake," said Harry looking over his plans again, "Hash wood and hash root are so different, they don't even come from the same plant!"

"They haven't had Herbology yet," said Snape flatly, "This is going to be your most infuriating class anyway, Gryffindor/Slytherin."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Harry indignantly, assuming his former Professor was making a cut on Gryffindor.

"Merely that Gryffindors and Slytherins care far more for their house rivalry then Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs do," explained Snape calmly.

The first of Harry's students walked into the class, glancing curiously at the ghost talking with his professor the young Slytherin took a seat towards the middle of the Slytherin section of the class room.

"I'll leave you to your class, but remember if someone does have their potion explode, that the residue is harmless unless magic is used to attempt to clean it up, if magic is used anything it is touching will burn," said the ghost before it floated through the wall behind him to wait in Harry's office, shaking his head at the naive new teacher.

"Hello, class," greeted Harry once all the seats were full. He glanced at his son, Albus, who'd quickly made friends with Scorpius Malfoy, and Ron's daughter, Rose, who were all sitting together. Harry had already lectured his and Ron's children that he was Professor Potter during class, not Dad or Uncle Harry, "I'm going to put instructions to a potion on the board, and I'm going to ask you to try to make this potion without my help at first, just to see how much you know. Ready? Begin," ordered Harry, flicking his wand at the black board behind him where the instructions appeared.

The students quickly go to work, they pulled out ingredients, and started the beginning stages of the potion. Harry knew that Snape had advised pacing through the class room, keeping the students on their toes, but Harry only remembered that making him extremely nervous and uncomfortable as a student, therefore he chose to watch the class from behind his desk. He watched as the students busily added ingredients, stirring and heating their brews according to the instructions on the board, glancing up every few minutes to check their process.

Then Harry saw it happening. A Gryffindor in the very back of the room, who was completing the potion quite a bit slower then the rest of the students in the class, he added hash wood to his potion, then, before Harry could say anything he hurriedly stirred the potion many times faster then recommended to make up for his lost time. Harry knew what was going to happen, even as he jumped out of his seat and rushed around his desk. He'd barely gotten around his desk when it happened. An explosion and green goo was splattered everywhere. Right then Harry decided it was time to start fallowing Professor Snape's advice.

"Next wand I see is 500 points from your house," bellowed Harry, stopping the many hand that had already started digging around in there bags or pockets for the magical instrument, "Anyone who doesn't think they have any potion on them go into the hall immediately and stay there," ordered Harry, not paying attention to the many questions and indignant exclamations.

Once everyone who thought they were clean was in the hallway Harry was left with four green Gryffindor and two Slytherins.

"Professor, could I use my wand and clean off this potion?" asked the boy who had caused the explosion, and was consequently covered head to toe in green goop.

"No, I believe you've done enough for one day," said Harry a bit sourly, having your classroom nearly blown up in your first class on your first day in your first year of teaching in a new school has a habit of putting anyone in a foul mood, "Use this, to wipe off your face and hands," ordered Harry roughly handing the boy a rag, "and go to Madame Pomfrey's office immediately."

Harry issued the same orders in the same rough manner to the other five students except for one Gryffindor who only had the smallest amount of potion on his hands that he easily wiped of with a rag. After inspecting the students who claimed not to have gotten any potion on them, and cleaning the ones who did Harry sourly dismissed them all. The students scurried away fearing the offer to take 500 points still stood.

Harry went into the classroom and magically cleaned every surface that had made contact with the potion and repaired the burns. Finally he fire called Madame Pomfrey from his office and told her what had happened. After examining the process made by the students who's potions hadn't exploded Harry cleared them away as well and finally aloud himself to collapse into a chair in his office to wait the remaining fifteen minutes for his next class, second year Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff.

"Well?" asked Snape, barely hiding the I-told-you-so smirk.

"Uhg, you wereright!" grumbled Harry annoyed.

"You seem to have expected otherwise," muttered Snape, basking in the glory of being right…again.

"Fine, I'll be harder on my classes," grumbled Harry.

Snape smiled at the young man busily writing down scores in his grade book, a true smile. Dumbledore had been right after all, Harry was his mother's son. Lilly would have had a hard time cracking down on her students but after an accident like Harry had just experienced she'd have no problem. Snape suddenly found himself overwhelmingly grateful he had a piece of Lilly to mentor.

After a few more moments, in which Snape coached Harry in the art of being strict, the first students of Harry's second class began to trickle in and Snape quietly left Harry to try again. He smiled as he heard Harry doing exactly as he'd been instructed.


End file.
